Appeals court blocks Alabama from checking immigration status of students

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — In a blow to Alabama’s toughest-in-the-nation immigration law, a federal appeals court sided with the Obama administration Friday when it blocked public schools from checking the immigration status of students.

The decision from the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals also said police can’t charge immigrants who are unable to prove their citizenship, but it let some of the law stand, giving supporters a partial victory. The decision was only temporary and a final ruling wasn’t expected for months, after judges can review more arguments.

Unlike crackdowns in other states, Alabama’s law was left largely in effect for about three weeks, long enough to frighten Hispanics and drive them away from the state. Construction businesses said Hispanic workers had quit showing up for jobs and schools reported that Latino students stopped coming to class.

While the long-range implications of the decision remain to be seen, immigrants celebrated the judges’ ruling. Word spread quickly through the state’s Hispanic community as Spanish-language radio stations aired the news.

“When I listened to that, I started crying. I called my friends and said, ‘Listen to the radio.’ We’re all happy,” said Abigail, an illegal immigrant who didn’t want her last name used because she feared arrest.

Before the ruling, Armando Cardenas said he was thinking about leaving Alabama because of the possibility of being arrested as an illegal immigrant and the hostility he now feels from residents. Now, Cardenas said he will stay for at least awhile longer.

“It’s not easy to leave everything you have worked so hard for,” Cardenas said.

The judges let stand part of the law that allows police to check a person’s immigration status during a traffic stop. Courts also can’t enforce contracts involving illegal immigrants, such as leases, and it’s still a felony for an illegal immigrant to do business with the state for basic things like getting a driver’s license, the judges ruled. Their 16-page decision contained very little discussion about their ruling.

The appeals court blocked part of the law that required school officials to verify the citizenship status of students enrolled after Sept. 1. It also barred enforcement of a section that let police file a misdemeanor charge against anyone who is in the country illegally and doesn’t have federal registration papers.

The Obama administration and a group of immigrant advocates such as the ACLU sued the state of Alabama after the law was passed in June. A federal judge upheld much of it late last month, and the Obama administration and the groups appealed.

Alabama Republicans said the law was needed to protect the jobs of legal residents. House Speaker Mike Hubbard, who championed the measure, praised the panel for allowing the “most effectual parts” of the law to remain in place.

“We’ve said from the beginning that Alabama will have a strict immigration law and we will enforce it. Alabama will not be a sanctuary state for illegal aliens, and this ruling reinforces that,” he said.